The Shen family of Jiangnan had been a distinguished clan of scholars and officials for three generations, with a spotless reputation.
His great-grandfather had passed the provincial examination, his grandfather had served in the Hanlin Academy, and his father came from a respectable background. His eldest brother was hailed by all the scholars of Jinling as a once-in-a-generation talent.
And yet, this generation of the Shen family had produced one thoroughly good-for-nothing son.
Shen Shiyan, the second son of the family, spent his days cockfighting, horse racing, and carousing in brothels. Burdened by gambling debts, he had nearly brought down the very gates of his family’s ancestral hall. Everyone said he would never make it into the cabinet or become a chancellor. He wasn’t even fit to pass the lowest-level civil service exam.
Even the one person he had ever loved as a boy only had eyes for his older brother. Later, she turned her attention to a young scholar who was more upright and talented than he was.
But no one knew that this despised wastrel had always been better at reading people than reading books.
He could never be a gentleman, but he knew exactly how to ruin one.
He could never save the world, but he knew exactly how to climb by trampling on everyone’s dignity.
He stole scholarly honors, destroyed reputations, betrayed his mentor, sold out his fellow students, fought the upright officials, tricked the corrupt, deceived the emperor, and seized power.
He had never spent his life trying to prove he was better than everyone else.
He only wanted everyone who had ever looked down on him to kneel and admit:
In this world, the shameless were always meant to win.
The story becomes more and more exciting
It's wonderful, but it's uncomfortable to integrate face and lizi into the protagonist alone. It would be better to separate them.
The writing is good. Please update me soon. The human nature is deeply portrayed. I hope the heroine is this girl Gu 🤭
It's so cool to write, and it really suits my heart.
I'm going to curse. This is too thorough and white. Is there anything else like this? I feel like there are people alive in his clan, and it's a shame to keep the protagonist alive. This is a roundabout way.
It's a cool batch, everyone has a lot of face.
The article is good, the concept is relatively new, it doesn't have the same stereotypes about time travel and the like, and it has the potential to be a big hit, and it has the potential to be adapted. I will keep writing in the future 👍
Halfway through, I couldn't help but comment: Why is Gu Xuetang everywhere? What is her identity? Otherwise, when she speaks, she always talks about what she would say if she were here. What does she do?
Good book, can be used now
I don't know which part I missed. What is the relationship between Gu Xuetang and the protagonist? Why can you follow me from your hometown to the capital? Did the article say that the Gu family is from the capital?